The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1887-01-11
araughtsman OF n great many OF It's sec.
lions, apparently unable to set down

lions, apparently unable To set dow
clearly his purpose. md his own idea G
the method OF executing It, has throw
upon Rppraising or collecting officers tn
work Of ascertaining the Intentions OF i'm
porters, or tho uses 10 which merchandise
can be, or may be, thereafter put, whicl
those officers are unable 10 perform In an,
reasonable time or in any sattsfactorii
way. To appraising and collecting wori
In practical administration there Ia limit
which our present law too frequentl,
Ignores. and then customs otiicars are un
Justly criticised, or condemned, for not do
lng such work properly. I have dwell
upon this incident In our tariff Legislation
becauae 1t makes clear, even to the super
ticial observer, how mans inventions, ant
Improved methodsot rapid communication
by steam, not only crowd down prices
and extend the salabls area OF one article
after another, year by year, and month by
month, but even modify the necessary IN
depreciation to be given TO classihcationi
In our. taxing laws, 49,, ;.
In Appendix A will be found ''the Off.
cial correspondence, opinions and deci'
sions, on The subject OF frcz.n fish, the
record Of which will disclose to your hon.
orable body the vast amount Of labor
which even one ambiguous phrase in a
tariff law throws upon your Treasury De.
partment and its customs officers. Our
exialtng drag.net-war.tsriF law contains
notn one, only, but hundreds OF such
phrases, and theee are the least Of its
discreditable, scandalous, and easily rem.
ediable imperfections. ,,l 'aTI8,
3N5g FISHERY PRIVILEGES. ,oF
The phrase. fisheries OF tho United
states,"' is IN the first tariff law enacted
by tho. first Congress which sat under the
Constitution, and the test Of American
fishing has, from that day to this, uniform.
ly,been the nationality Of the vessel, re-
gardlees Of the place where the fish were
taken. Even the Treaty of Washington,
which admitted free Of duty into each
country fish Of all kinds being the produce
Of tsheries Of either country, excepting
fish Of the inland lakes. and OF the rivers
falling into them, loft fish caught therein
by American vessels entitled to free en-.
try in our ports as formerly. Our Supreme
Court declared in 1875, that, subject to the
paramount right OF navigation, 1.-THE
power to regulate which is in the Fed
eral Government, each. stats owns
the bed Of the tids-waters within its jur-
isdiction, and may appropriate them to be
used exclusively by it's cltiz sns as CON.
mon for cultivsting and taking fish il
navigation be not impeded; but the Treaty
Of lS54gaye, nevertheless, to Great Britain
subjects, in common with American citi-
zsns, the liberty to fish on our coasts
north Of the S6th parallel Of north lati-
tude, and the Treaty Of 1871 gave the lib
erty north Of the 39th parallel. Those
treaties having fallen, and the fishing
rights Of Massachusetts on her coasts hay-
ing returned 10 her, she may permit
British vessels to fish on her coasts, but
then 1t could not be said that the fish, il
entered at our ports, had been imported
from foreign port. But apart from such
such an Improbable incident to compli.
cate the proposition, it may be safely
affirmed that all fishing grounds, whether
on the high seas, or on the Canadian
coasts secured to US by treaty stipulations,
are '"American Fisheries" If the fish are
caught by vessels regularly documented
by the Treasury Department. In that
sense and to that end, the ocean and GER
tain Canadian coasts are (under the
treaties Of 1888 and 1SlS) our fishing
grounds." ~. ,---ll- 90 -